Strip club shut down

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), John Pirro and Eugene Driscoll THE NEWS-TIMES

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, March 16, 2006

DANBURY- The car pulled into the near-empty parking lot at the Go-Go Joint bar on Wednesday, a few minutes after those carrying Danbury police and state prosecutors pulled out.

"What, they closed it?" the man behind the wheel asked and received an answer in the affirmative.

"Now where am I going to go?" he asked before driving off.

Variations on that scene will probably be replayed several times over the next few days, after law enforcement authorities shut down a notorious Shelter Rock Road strip club where "dancers" routinely had sex with patrons.

"Some of the undercover officers we used were involved in investigations like this at other bars in the state. They said this was the worst one they'd ever seen," said Danbury police Detective Lt.
James Fisher

.

The bar, previously known as
Bada Bing
and Wiggles, has been a source of community complaints for the past several years. The police department's
Special Investigations Division
has been working with the chief state's attorney and local prosecutors for months to shut it down under the state's nuisance abatement law, Fisher said.

On Wednesday, Judge
Douglas Mintz
issued the closure order. A hearing is set for Monday in Danbury Superior Court to determine how long the bar will be closed.

The law requires three or more arrests, demonstrating a pattern of criminal activity, within one year to close a targeted premises.

In August, police raided the club and reported that many of the dancers were engaged in sexual activity with patrons inside. Six women were charged with prostitution after offering to have sex with undercover officers for money.

Even more could have been arrested had more officers been employed, Fisher said. The seven other dancers present were engaged in similar activity, he said.

Last month, another dancer was charged with prostitution after asking an undercover officer for money in exchange for sex.

A handful of patrons and at least six dancers were in the bar when police, armed with the closure order, arrived early Wednesday afternoon.

No illicit activity was taking place, and everyone inside left without incident, Fisher said.

Despite the changes in name, the bar is still owned by Vincent Mavilia, police said. Attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.

"I've been receiving complaints from my constituents for months," said Common Council member
Thomas Saadi
, whose Fourth Ward district includes the bar. "It began last summer and quieted down a bit during the winter, but it's been picking up again lately."